Minerals separator



June 8, 1954 Filed March 30, 1953 W. A. E. HULT MINERALS SEPARATOR 2Sheets-Sheet l INVENTOR. WILLIAM A. E. HULT mwx8.mmx

AGENTS June 8, 1954 w. A. E. HULT 2, 680,5 l8 MINERALS SEPARATOR FiledMarch 30, 1953 2 SheetsShee t 2 INVENTOR. WILLIAM A. E. HULT AGENTSPatented June 8, 1954 UNITED S'EAZEES TENT OFFICE The present inventionrelates generally to gravity separators and more particularly to aminerals separator for recovering valuable minerals from gravels andcrushed ores.

The primary object of this invention is to pro- Another object of thisinvention is to provide a minerals separator wherein novel and efficientcompartment for emptying Another object is to provide a gravityseparator for use with minerals and quantity of less concentratedmaterials.

Finally, it is an object to provide a minerals the aforementionedcharacter which is simple, safe and convenient to operate, and whichwill give generally eliicient and durable With these and other objectsdefinitely in view,

this invention consists in the novel construction, combination andarrangement of elements and drawings, and in which:

, Fig. l is a perspective view of the minerals separator.

' Fig. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view of the device.

Fig. 3 is a sectional view taken on the line 3-3 of Fig. 2.

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary plan view of the device.

Fig. 5 is an end elevation view of the device.

Fig. 6 is an isometric view of the rifiie board used in the machine.

Referring now to the drawing, the machine comprises, in brief, a baseill on which is secured a lower launder l2 having a screw and an upperlaunder is having a veyor l8. positioned lower launder I 2 and is sepaasliding rifile board 20. One upper launder I 6 is provided with a hopper22having an oscillating screen 24 to rate the coarser material beforethe ore into the machine.

isfed sepa- The base iii includes a base plate 26 havingra pair ofsupport beams 23,

The upper launder it comprises a pair of sides:

:32 having downwardly extended portions 44' sei i to a suitable Thedrive shaft 5c is also provided with a pulley which carries a bel endstops 14 board 26.

shown in Fig. 3. surface of the riflle board 2? has two toothed racks 82which are engaged by the pinions 8% on the actuating shaft 86, saidactuating shaft being a bearing carried on the of the end plate 35.provided with a crank 94,

The ting shaft as is. SO that bv mammr rotation thereof, the riilieboard 20 may be slid to one side.

The end of the upper launder [6 remote from the hopper is provided witha gate 96 which fits over the aperture 98 between the web 52 and the endplate 54, said gate being vertically slidably mounted in guides Hi0.

Attached to the gate 56 is a link Hi2 connected to a hand lever Hi4which in turn is pivotally mounted on the side 42, so that by depressionof said hand lever, the gate 93 may be raised to open the aperture 98.

The upper launder i6 is provided with a discharge chute Hlfi shaped tofit around the aperture 98, so that rough material expelled therefromwill be carried clear of the machine.

The hopper 22 is attached to the upper edges of the upper launder l andcomprises two sides Hi8 and an end H0. The screen 2:; has a frame H2which is slidably mounted in guides ti l attached to the sides 1&8, saidframe protruding through a slot H6 in the end HQ. The open end of thehopper 22 has a discharge lip Hi3 secured between the extended sidesiilii, so that rough ores retained on top of the screen 2% will beprevented from falling into the upper launder and will be carried clearof the machine.

The screen 2d is oscillated by a connecting rod l2!) pivotally attachedthereto, said connecting rod being eccentrically fastened to a disc .22on the shaft i24 which is rotatably mounted on the bracket 425. Theshaft 124 is provided with a pulley I28 having thereon a belt ifiii,which is driven by a pulley in on the drive shaft 58, thus the screen 24is oscillated continuously while the machine is in operation.

In order to separate concentrates from ores, the crushed ores, gravelsor the like or fed into the hopper, together with water, while themachine is in operation. The screen 24 sifts the finer ores and allowsthem to fall into the upper launder it, where the screw conveyor 13agitates the ores and the water causing the heavier particles to settleat the bottom of ti e launder. These heavier particles are the valuableminerals sought to be recovered, being considerably heavier than theores in which they are found. These valuable fines or concentratescollect between the rifiies while the tailings, or unwanted ores, arepiled up at the end of the upper launder adjacent the aperture 98, acertain amount of the excess being ejected over the end plate 55. Assoon as sufficient ore has been segregated, the feeding or" ores intothe hopper is stopped, the gate 96 is opened, and continued rotation ofthe screw conveyor l8 expells the tailings from the chute N38.

The riiiie board 28 is now opened so that the fines or concentratesbetween the riilies '26 are scraped oii and fall into the lower launder,where the screw conveyor i l expells them through the open end M fromwhere they are collected in suitable containers.

A fresh load or ores is now fed 22 and the process repeated, or ifdesired, the original ores may be fed through the machine again foradditional segregation.

The machine is, of course, driven by means or a suitable motor of anywell known type.

It will be seen that the moving parts of the machine are few and theconstruction simple, the machine being easily serviced and cleaned.

The operation of this invention will be clearly comprehended from aconsideration of the foregoing description of the mechanical detailsthereof, taken in connection with the drawing and into the hopper theabove recited objects. It will be obvious that all said objects areamply achieved by this invention.

Further description would appear to be unnecessary.

It is understood that minor variation from the form of the inventiondisclosed herein may be made without departure from the spirit and scopeof the invention, and that the specification and drawing are to beconsidered as merely illustrative rather than limiting.

I claim:

1. A minerals separator comprising an upper launder having a screwconveyor, and a lower launder having a screw conveyor, a riffle boarddisposed in one position thereof between said upper and lower launders,a hopper at one end of said upper launder, a discharge chute at theother end thereof, launder, said riiile board being shiitable to asecond position, and means to unload fines and concentrates gathered onsaid board into the lower launder when the board is shifted to saidsecond position.

2. A minerals separator comprising an upper launder having a screwconveyor, and a lower launder having a screw conveyor, a riiile boardslidably mounted between said upper and lower launders, a crankoperatively connected with said riiile board whereby said board can beshifted to deposit the contents of said upper launder in said lowerlaunder, a hopper at one end of said upper launder, a discharge chute atthe other end thereof, and an outlet in said lower launder.

3. A minerals separator comprising an upper launder and a lower launderbelow the upper launder, a riiiie board disposed in one position thereofbetween said upper and lower launders, said riiile board being shiftableto a second position, said upper launder having a fixed side withportions extending downwardly between said riffies, said portionscomprising fixed scrapers to dislodge the fines from the riilie boardwhen it is shifted toward said second position.

4. A minerals separator comprising an upper launder having a. screwconveyor, and a lower launder having a screw conveyor, a riiiie boardslidably mounted between said upper and lower launders, a crankoperatively connected with said riffie board whereby said board can beshifted to deposit the contents of said upper launder in said lowerlaunder, a hopper at one end of said upper launder, an oscillatingscreen in said hopper, a discharge chute at the other end of said upperlaunder, and an outlet in said lower launder.

5. A minerals separator comprising an upper launder having a screwconveyor, and a lower launder having a screw conveyor, a rifiie boardslidably mounted between said upper and lower launders, a crankoperatively connected with said rifiie board whereby said board can beshifted to deposit the contents of said upper launder in said lowerlaunder, a hopper at one end of said upper launder, an oscillatingscreen in said hopper, a discharge chute at the other end of said upperlaunder, a gate slidably mounted at said other end of the upper launderto control the flow of material from the upper launder into said chute,and an outlet in said lower launder.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS NameJones Overpeck Date Aug. 7, 1917 Nov. 22, 1949 Number

